The point guard’s fierce, competitive nature and desire to play through pain is making his absence difficult to deal with.

Lowry has missed the past four games and will miss at least the next four as well due to an ankle injury he aggravated earlier this month in Oklahoma City.

The team revealed Thursday that Lowry would miss another one to two weeks and the guard admitted on Friday that he was a little bit surprised with the decision.

“To be honest, yeah, very surprised and very shocked, but you know it’s day-by-day, we’ve got a great training staff, we’ve got guys, they want to protect me and make sure I get back to 100%, that’s the reasoning for that,” Lowry said.

The Villanova product said his ankle is feeling much better, which is why the team needs to tell him to slow down.

“Yeah, yeah, definitely, I definitely can say that,” Lowry said when asked whether he needed the team to step in and make sure he didn’t return too soon. Lowry said he’s not good at being patient.

Lowry was leading the Raptors in scoring, assists and steals when he went down and the team has gone 1-4 in his absence, including the Thunder game, which was already looking like a blowout when he got hurt.

Lowry has been frustrated often by injuries over the course of his career.

Last season, while with Houston, he missed games due to a sports hernia and a bacterial infection. He has also missed a handful of games due to injury in all but one of his pro seasons and going way back, had a minor ACL injury as a freshman at Villanova and missed most of his rookie season with Memphis after breaking his wrist following a nasty fall.

So, he’s been through this before. What does he need to do from here?

“Just come back happy. Just come back trying to do the things I was doing. It’s only a minor setback. It won’t kill me, but it will hurt me,” Lowry said.

No fan of media scrums, Lowry mixed in smiles and jokes at Friday’s session, a good sign that he is in the right frame of mind, despite his disappointment.

Lowry was traveling most of the day last Tuesday, so he missed Toronto’s stirring win over Indiana, which featured a not-so-stirring five-point fourth quarter, an all-time low for the Raptors.

“I didn’t see the game. I hear it was a great fourth quarter for us,” he said, suppressing a grin.

Lowry said it is hard to travel with the team but not play, which he will do for the next couple of trips, but he can still help his teammates.

“It’s very difficult because I know I want to be out there. But at the same time I’m out there supporting them. Being the eyes on and off the court. I always can (pull guys aside to talk). That’s what I try to do, even when I’m playing. I try to give my own perspective of what I can see and what can be done.”

Not being able to suit up against perennial Atlantic Division powerhouse Boston or in his hometown of Philadelphia for the first time as a Raptor on Tuesday will eat at Lowry, but he’s thinking long-term and that’s helping him stay positive and loose.

A few more wins by his mates wouldn’t hurt his well-being either.

For that to happen in Boston, Lowry’s backup, Jose Calderon, will have to continue his strong play.

Calderon registered his first career triple-double against the Pacers and notched 17 assists in the heartbreaking triple-overtime loss to Utah.

“Fantastic,” was Lowry’s assessment of Calderon’s play.

“He’s professional, he’s always a guy who can get great assist numbers and make some shots and that’s what he’s been doing. I can’t wait to get back on the court with him and make both our jobs easier.”

BIG V: MEET KG!

Jonas Valanciunas has faced some difficult challenges so far as a rookie, but he hasn’t seen anything like Kevin Garnett.

KG, the Big Ticket, Da Kid, call him whatever you want, but there’s no doubt that Garnett is unique.

He’ll get after Valanciunas on defence on Saturday, harassing him with his quick hands and he’ll be barking at him (maybe literally, ask Jose Calderon) at the same time.

The big man said he has been warned about Garnett’s constant yapping and it won’t intimidate him.

“He’s a little bit different than a (traditional) centre, but I’m excited to play against him,” Valanciunas said.

Teammate Kyle Lowry thinks Valanciunas will fight back against Garnett, who has a history of trying to bully opponents (and the occasional teammate).

“He’s going to have to learn. He’s a hall of famer, tough to play against, but JV’s going to not back down, he’s going to play his game,” Lowry said.

Head coach Dwane Casey cautioned that it would be unwise to look past the Celtics, because top player Rajon Rondo is questionable due to an ankle injury.

“They’re still a very potent team. Any time you have experience players, hall of fame players … those guys will help those young players learn and they know how to win,” Casey said.